Animal Welfare at the Oscars

Many animal protection advocates were glued to their televisions this year during the Oscar Awards. Two amazing films exposing animal welfare concerns were nominated for Best Documentary: "The Cove" and "Food Inc." "The Cove" won the award and both films received much needed exposure, which will hopefully move forward the issues they highlight.

"The Cove" Director Louie Psihoyos, Producer Fisher Stevens and the main character Ric O’Barry, accepted the award. The action-packed film describes O’Barry’s efforts to expose the continued slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Taiji, Japan and the connections to the captive dolphin industry. Although the hunts still persist, awareness is building in Japan.

Also nominated for best documentary of 2009, "Food Inc." exposes millions of Americans to the dark reality of food production in the U.S. today. Through interviews and video footage the movie explores some of the negative impacts that the current corporate controlled food industry has on our environment, worker safety, public health, farmer livelihood and animal welfare. The film concludes that while problems surrounding food production are challenging, alternatives exist and change is possible.